Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-04-21
A Shop Girls Story.
Chicago Mail.

popular impression, also, that these shop
girls. sales ladies' or sales-wOmen, what
ever they may be called, are poorly paid
harshly treated, and subjected to long
hours and trying time generally. This
is not strictly true, and many of the
girls themselves say it is not. One Of
these young ladies, in speaking on this
same subject to reporter for the Mail,
made use of the following language:
''It is not true that we girls are treated
shamefully and kept at starving wages by
our employers. Of course there are some,
the beginners, who receive small salaries,
and there are none of us who would re-
fuse an increase if it were offered to us,
but the majority of us get very good
salaries. An apprentice, that is, a girl
who has never done any store work, it is
true, is paid only So Or 81 per week, but
then, if she is good Ill running up her
book, she soon gets Sc to So per week,
and then $40 to $13, and good many of
them would you believe it?) get as high
as $18 to $50 per wsek. There are some
of the girls in the millinery and cloak de-
partments, / am told, who receive higher
salaries than these. which is more than q
good many of the men are making.
''What do L mean by girl running up
her book?" Every girl has book in
which she keeps record of the sales she
makes. At the end of each week this is
handed over to the head of the department
she works in. The total soon shows
whether the girl is good saleswoman,
and whether she is working to increase
the number of her sales. No girl can do
as well the first week as she does the
second, or the third or the fourth. If
her book does not run up her employers
want to know why
GLOW can girl increase the number of
her sales?"
"In divers ways. How does a book
agent sell man book that he does not
want, which he has not the least use fer
in the world? By slick talking, of
course, but more by studying human ma
ture carefully so as TO know the best
means of approaching a man when he
sees him. 1t is thus with the salesladies,
only they don't have to do SO much talking.
They must be courteous, however, quick
to see what a customer wants, aud then
ready in supplying that want. 4 girl
who can wear a smile at will and be pleas
ant, no matter how many airs or eccen-
tricities a customer may have, always
commands good wages and is reasonably
sure for her position.
ga good hat saleswoman in the hat
trimming department. of millinery store
usually receives $12 to $14 per week:
though there are some of them who get
as high as $17 per week. She has to
show good taste in trimming hats and has
to show originality in design and in the
effect of colors. If she is smart she can
make woman think hat becomes her
and she can fix it up SO as to make hel
ba I'll d.
woman's weakness-from a mechanics
wife to millionaire's better half--is he1
love for beautiful bonnet. In the cloak
departments of our large stores the sales
women, command big salaries. They must
be active, and should know the wants OF
a customer better than the customer her
self. a saleswoman in the silk depart
ment also has good opportunity to
display her talents. She can tell how a
dress should be trimmed, and then sell g
valuable beaded front along with the
dress-pattern and thereby double the
amount of the sale.
''The great difficulty with many girl:
is that they are lazy. Like some anen
they are drones, and shirk their WORK
whenever they get chance. There is
ample opportunity in big store for 6
girl to avoid customer if she wants to
Their success depends largely upon theil
own efforts. Sometimes they are in
different or impudent to customers. This
drives the buyer to another store, and
the girl and her employer are both los
erS."
''How about the harsh treatment OF the
managers?"
Sometimes a girl is treated harshlJ
and without cause, but this IS of rare oc
curence. There are verg few managers
but who wish to deal justly by the girls
Sometimes floor manager gets abusive
but the girl can prevent recurrence OF
such treatment by appealing to her EN-
ployers if she has been unjustly abused
Very few merchants accept the bare
statements of a floor walker who reports
a saleswoman. The charge is invariably
investigated"
Zone thing that works hard with Us
though, is standing nearly all day. Thi:
is not altogether due to lack of chairs tC
sit down upon at times, though such ae
commodations might be better. 1t large
ly grows from the necessities of the case.
During the busy season there is no time
to think of sitting down, and when the
day Is over we begin TO realize how tired
we are. The girls who stand behind
counters have a desk on the counter tC
lean against. They have an easier time
than those who stand around tables and
in the millinery department. In the
cloak rooms and in the millinery depart
ment, too, of some very large stores, the
saleswomen, when pot busy, have the use
of chairs that are put in for the con
venience of customers. This
though, comes far from CIV
ing US a rest. sity ordinance
requires the employers to have enough
chairs to allow female employees an OPP
portunity TO sit down. Most of the
stores, in measure, are supplied with
these chairs, but we never get time tG
occupy them.
''The ordinance is intended, suppose
to give rest TO the saleswomen, an6
something ought to be done toward prac
tically enforcing the spirit of the law
Such a step is necessary to maintain the
good health and service of the sales
woman"
I ''Do the girls get a vacation during the